As an aide to Texas Senator Gonzalo Barrientos, Steve Kester (right) gets a close-up view of this year's legislative proceedings in Austin.
Photo by Senate Media Services
Eva Stahl and Jeffrey Grove, who work for Texas Representative Fred Brown, are among the LBJ School students who volunteer their time and talent in exchange for experience working in a state legislator's office.
Photo by María de la Luz Martínez
LBJ School student Steve Kester is paying to work long hours this semester.
With the Texas Legislature in session, Kester is one of three legislative aides to Senator Gonzalo Barrientos (D-Austin). The job is full-time and then some--it also serves as Kester's required internship for the LBJ School master's degree program (thus he pays tuition to UT Austin).
Kester is one of many LBJ School students and alumni who have established a strong presence in Texas state government. From alumnus Rodney Ellis (LBJ Class of 1977), a Democratic State Senator from Houston, to the students who volunteer three half-days a week, the Capitol is lined with officials and staffers who have used the LBJ School as a springboard to public service.
Since the Texas Legislature meets only every other spring, the sessions are a busy time for all involved. Rush hour traffic isn't much of an issue, since 12-hour days are par for the course. Those who sign on for the session say they enjoy the parade of personalities, expertise, and new information they encounter every day.
"Someone told me six months with a member is like working with an agency for two years. It couldn't be more true," said Niyanta Spelman (LBJ Class of 1994). Spelman was a legislative aide during the 1995 session, and since then has been an analyst for the Legislative Budget Board.
The LBB prepares a draft appropriations bill for the state budget, then keeps its experts on hand to answer questions and help legislators hammer out the final budget. Spelman is in charge of budget information for the General Land Office, the Parks and Wildlife Department, Texas Commission on the Arts, and the State Preservation Board, as well as performance information for the Texas Water Development Board and the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission. She is one of 14 LBJ School alumni who work at the LBB.
During the session, Spelman is on call to the committees involved in the budgeting process. She must remain nonpartisan and be able to answer questions from legislators about any aspect of her agencies' budget requests.
"Mentally it can be quite exhausting, and sometimes you don't have time for meals and such," Spelman said. But experience has its benefits. "I think when you've been through it once, there's a level of confidence that allows you to be more relaxed."
Kester also is a legislative veteran. He spent his first session in 1991 as a messenger and has been involved in some aspect of government ever since. In 1995 Kester joined Senator Barrientos' staff, where he has remained except for an 18-month stint working for U.S. Representative Max Sandlin (D-Marshall), who represents a slice of East Texas in Congress.
A Texas native, Kester graduated from Southwest Texas State University in 1993 with a double major in political science and philosophy. He began part-time study at the LBJ School three years ago after talking with colleagues in Austin and Washington who are LBJ School alumni.
Kester said he prefers working for a Texas State Senator to occupying a small niche in the Washington political machine.
"It's much more difficult (in Washington) to have an impact on policy. You're one staffer working for one of 435 Representatives," Kester said. "Here, you have a great opportunity (to affect policy), particularly in the senate because there are only 31 members."
Barrientos relies on Kester for help in the arenas of health and human services, criminal justice, and education, among other issues. Kester works with the Senator on the floor, and also "runs traps" on bills--that is, he examines them for aspects that could affect Barrientos' constituents or potentially cause trouble.
"It's my job to make sure he has all the information," Kester said.
Jeffrey Grove, a full-time first-year LBJ School student from Maryland, also works to keep legislators well apprised. Grove volunteers about 12 hours a week in the office of Representative Fred Brown (R-College Station), along with fellow LBJ students Eva Stahl and Emily Roth.
Grove heard about the job after Brown approached a friend on the faculty asking for student help. The volunteers research policy issues, answer phones, and help with office chores. Since Grove plans to work in education policy after he earns his degree, he also attends meetings of the Committee on Higher Education, of which Brown is a member.
Brown's office seems to value its LBJ School student assistance. Grove said he and his fellow LBJ volunteers are expected to contribute more than if they were undergraduates helping out with clerical tasks.
"They realize we're graduate students from a highly ranked policy school donating our time to help them," Grove said. "They feel more of an obligation to give us some substantive policy work."
Grove, Kester, and Spelman agree that the LBJ School provides a strong foundation for their work with the legislature.
"When you go to the LBJ School, you learn to analyze things better," Spelman said. "That's what we're constantly doing."
Rebecca Christie is a first-year LBJ School student and a Public Information Fellow in the Office of Publications. During the fall and spring semesters, she has written news articles for the LBJ School's Web site and other publications.